1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to fasteners and, more particularly, an apparatus for removing a fastener from another structure.
2. Description of the Related Art
Swaged fasteners and associated tooling disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,315,755 to Fulbright et al. are known for use in numerous applications. An exemplary fastener of this type includes a pin and a collar, with the collar being swageable onto the pin. Specifically, the pin might include an enlarged head and a shank, with a shank having locking grooves or threading on an exterior surface thereof. The collar can be swaged into engagement with the shank, i.e., swaged into the threading, which causes the fastener to become fastened. While such fasteners have been generally effective for their intended purposes, such fasteners have not, however, been without limitation.
Such swageable fasteners have been employed widely in a variety of applications in which componentry is expensive and the fasteners often must be installed in cramped confines. A swaged fastener must be removed from the structures to which it is mounted if the fastener has been swaged improperly or if the apparatus otherwise must be disassembled. Some previously known methodologies for removing swaged fasteners have employed chisel-type devices and hammers, or alternatively have employed cutting torches, with such methodologies often resulting in breakage of the componentry to which the fastener is mounted and/or raising safety concerns and/or being relatively slow.
As is understood in the relevant art, the pin of such a fastener is significantly harder than the collar, and tooling that cuts into the pin while removing the collar therefrom will necessarily have a very short lifespan. Also, numerous known machines for removing the collars from swaged fasteners are relatively large and thus are difficult to employ within the cramped confines of a variety of applications.
It thus is desired to provide an improved apparatus for cutting a collar of a swaged fastener to facilitate removal of the swaged fastener from componentry to which it is mounted. Such an apparatus preferably would function without shock loading of the swaged fastener or the components on which the fastener is mounted, would not raise safety concerns of the type raised in conjunction with the use of cutting torches, and would operate relatively quickly. Such an apparatus preferably also would be easily used within the cramped confines in which the swaged fastener is mounted. Moreover, such an apparatus preferably would be relatively inexpensive to manufacture and employ and also would have a relatively long lifespan.